For those who don't know what a hen house is doing at the Kitsap Forest Theater, a bit of clarification: The term 'Hen House' has been used to denote the women's dressing room since Music Man in 2001 when the "pick-a-little ladies" deemed it such.

The back story to the repairs on the women's dressing room roof goes back to last November when a very bad wind wipped through Kitsap Peninsula leaving scores of trees uprooted. Among the 10-20 trees that fell on the Kitsap property, one fell on the roof of the Hen House.

Last week a few volunteers (Scott & Barb Baker, Josh Brown, Craig McCoy, Olivia Hickerson, and Brian & Gala Lindvall) started the roof repair project. The Bremerton Rotary donated money to help cover the material expenses (Thank you!) and we started the tear off and replace the roof project. A few of us took several loads of old set wood to the dumpster and dump.

We will need many more work parties to complete the project, but a good amount of rotten roof has now been repaired. It takes an army of volunteers to keep this property in good repair. Please let us know if you would like to help with this project.

The Mountaineers Players have been performing at the Kitsap Forest Theater since the 1920's. There is a long history of volunteers who have loved and cared for the theater and the property "up top" where the historic Kitsap Cabin sits. Read our history to learn some of what started this wonderful and long tradition. The Players spend many weekends on the Kitsap property rehearsing and performing shows, putting on summer camps - and caring for the property. Many Players live in tents or in the dorm during rehearsal and show weekends. We eat meals prepared by volunteer cooks in Kitsap Cabin, and we socialize, sing around the campfire, hike to Big Tree, and enjoy being in the forest environment.

To keep this place functioning takes many volunteers taking on many tasks. It's wonderful how some who audition for shows later become important volunteers who help with the maintenance of the property. We would like to highlight some of our many faithful volunteers.

Erik Lam was a performer in this spring's Fiddler on the Roof. His mother and sister were in last spring's Oklahoma! Erik decided to do his Eagle Scout project on the Kitsap property and asked where he could be the most useful. We decided that a great project would be clearing out part of a theater building where the roof collapsed this spring. In addition to falling trees and branches, the roofs at the theater take quite a beating with the weather - and this roof was over 30 years old. His crew worked two full days and hauled away over 3 tons of rotten wood and other debris. They also took 890 pounds of old metal to metal recycling. They accomplished in two days what would have taken us months to do. Erik and his uncle also built beautiful new benches for the Kitsap Cabin deck. The Mountaineers Players and the Kitsap Forest Theater thank Erik and his family for their incredible work on behalf of the theater. To see more pictures from this successful work party, please visit our photo gallery.

Joe Markovich auditioned with his family for Fiddler on the Roof this spring, and if you saw our show, he was one of the bottle dancers extraordinaire. He would practice by walking down the theater trail with his bottle on his head (and no - they were not attached). Joe is also an arborist, and he immediately saw that he could be very helpful on the property. Joe has spent quite a few volunteer hours cutting down dead trees that were threatening buildings (or people) and climbing high into trees to cut off dead branches. He brought a friend, Chris, several weeks ago to continue his work. Joe and Chris, we so appreciate you taking care of this amazing property.

We have many other long-time volunteers who have spent untold hours building, repairing and taking care of this property. We could always use more help and expertise. Please contact us to volunteer your time and resources.

This summer and fall we will be putting a finish on the yurt decks and doors, cleaning and painting a building on the property, and rebuilding the roof and rafters of the building at the theater. Come be part of a decades old Mountaineers tradition and volunteer your time and efforts to keep this theater alive for future generations!

How do you find an affordable floor to finish the unique yurt when you are on a budget? We solved that problem by finding some beautiful oak flooring on craigslist that was being removed from a house set for demolition. With a lot of volunteer labor, time, and sweat, plus one talented craftsman – we went from the picture on the left to the picture on the right. To see more pictures of this journey, please go to our photo gallery, click on "Yurt at Kitsap" and go to photos #55-#64.

Thanks to Craig McCoy for providing the truck and volunteer time to help load the flooring, transport it to Kitsap, and start grinding off the nails. Josh Brown, Brian Lindvall, Trey Morgan, Gail Foster, Nancy Estill and Gala Lindvall all helped with the grinding, wiping and stacking of the wood. It took three days of work to go from the flooring at the original house to the flooring stacked in the shed ready for installation.

Special thanks to Chris Greyell from Milllwork Installations for providing the expertise and spending an entire weekend from dawn to dusk laying the floor. He was helped by Trey Morgan, son of Angela Morgan, a cast member of our spring show, Fiddler on the Roof. 

One of the joys of working on shows at the Kitsap Forest Theater is meeting new people – and finding actors and their family members who immediately start jumping in to help with roofing projects, felling trees, cleaning up, cooking and keeping this place humming. We thank everyone who helped with the yurt, and who help all around the property. You are all continuing a Mountaineers tradtion that started in 1923, and hopefully will continue for many more generations.

The Kitsap Forest Theater is a beautiful place situated among a forest of many different variety of trees and wildlife with several creeks running through the property. Did you know that the theater property (owned by The Mountaineers) is surrounded by the Rhododendron Preserve (owned and operated by The Mountaineers Foundation - not affiliated with The Mountaineers)? There are over 460 acres of pristine forest being protected for new generations of outdoor lovers. The Rhododendron Preserve includes "Big Tree", one of the biggest old growth firs on the Olympic peninsula and is worth the short hike to view it.

Those of us who have been involved keep coming back because of the beauty and peacefulness of this special and magical place. Since "mother nature" has her way with this property, there is much work to do before each play season to prepare the grounds and buildings for the actors, production staff and audience. 

Last weekend Brian Lindvall, co Kitsap Cabin chair, spent all day washing all 44 mattresses from our bunk house (Cascade) in preparation for our first Kitsap Rehearsal weekend at the theater. Previous to that, several cast members (David Gordon & Purcelle Harris) helped Nancy Estill and Brian remove many screws that were sticking out of the 2" x 4"'s on the men's side of Cascade after the damaged wallboard was removed. The cabin is now ready for overnights for our cast and crew.

Some of the roofs on the buildings down at the theater are leaking and in need of repair. So far, we have had two work parties to deal with this huge job. Thanks to Scott Baker, Josh Brown, Craig McCoy and Gardner Hicks for taking the lead on this project. And thanks to Olivia Hickerson for helping (with her pickup) to take a bunch of trash and used roofing to the dump. Last weekend Scott and Josh cut out a large rotten part of the roof and replaced it with new plywood. We have scheduled a third roofing party on Saturday, April 21st, and could use more help.

Also, last weekend Gardner Hicks (Theater Chair) and David Jensen raked all of the audience seats in the theater. Gardner Hicks has been the super volunteer who  has cared for the theater and the theater trail for over 40 years. David Jensen has taken over the task of maintaining the Theater Trail and we thank him for "stepping up" and continuing the long standing tradition of volunteerism at the theater. And we thank Gardner for his continued contributions to the care of this majestic theater.

We also continue the work on our new yurt. We found used oak flooring for the yurt, and it took three days of work to load it, unload it, and grind off all of the nails and staples sticking out of the wood. Thanks to Craig McCoy, Josh Brown, Brian Lindvall and Trey Morgan for help with all of that grinding. And thanks to Gail Foster and Nancy Estill for help in cleaning and stacking the flooring.

We are always looking for help around the property and with building and painting sets. Please consider volunteering your time and energy in the coming months. During shows, we need volunteer ushers and parkers to help - and you get to see the show for free. It is a great way to be an important part of the team.

We are a community of outdoor and theater lovers and there are lots of opportunities to join us and help out in whatever area you are able. Contact us for more information and/or to volunteer. Thanks!